The Chinese government has scrapped its 5-year old quota system on the export of rare earths.

This follows a World Trade Organization ruling which has determined the quota system gave an unfair advantage to domestic consumers.

Rare earths are 17 different metals heavily used in the development of high-tech components, including much of what's used in cell phones and other microchip-based technology.

China accounts for over 90 percent of global rare earth production.

The government at the time brought in the quota system in 2010 as a way to limit the ecological damage caused by rare-earth mining.

Implementation of the quotas dramatically drove up the price of rare-earth commodities.